Summer 2017: The Best Yet

This article was written in collaboration by Elly Atwood and Prerna Kanji.

Summer vacation is a time of relaxing, rejuvenating and travelling. We are lucky enough to go to an international school like AISG where the diversity of nationalities means students visit many interesting places every year. We interviewed individuals in the high school about their summers and how they spent them. Here are some stories from our very own students:

Nina Farhat-Sepahi, a senior returning for her 10th year at AISG, traveled all around the United States for the summer. Her first stop was Bumpass, Virginia where she stayed for a family reunion out by Lake Anna. She spent her days swimming, tubing, boating, and kayaking. Her next destination was California. She flew to San Francisco to visit colleges in California before her senior year. This was a road trip from San Francisco down to Los Angeles with her mother and father. This trip was her favorite part of her whole summer. Specifically, the drive down from San Francisco to Santa Barbara was the highlight of this trip. They drove down the coast of California and it was “the most fun drive because of the view and the music”. She also went to Arkansas to visit family and throughout her whole summer she kept going back to New York, where she is originally from. In New York she explored the city and also was able to show some friends from AISG around. After a summer of extensive travelling, Nina returned to Guangzhou for her final year at AISG.

Alice Fiorito, a senior returning for her 2nd year at AISG, visited both England and Italy this summer. Her family is from Italy and she spent the majority of her summer at her grandparents house in Cala Gonone. She spent her time going out on a boat, relaxing at the beach, and napping. She went to England for a week with her brother, Marco, to participate in a swimming instructor’s course where she taught people how to swim. After a summer in Italy and England, Alice returned to China for her senior year.

Amanda DaCosta, a junior returning for her 4th year at AISG, traveled to both Hong Kong and the United States this summer. At the very beginning of her summer she traveled to Hong Kong with her family and her grandpa who was visiting. She took him around the city, showing him Stanley Market and taking him on the ferry to the IFC mall on Hong Kong Island. From Hong Kong she traveled by herself to Bradenton, Florida for a week long tennis camp. She was at the tennis camp over the Fourth of July, which is a national holiday in the US. The celebration for the holiday was the highlight of her trip. The camp held a party where they served burgers and made s’mores. Everyone socialized and lit fireworks. After her Florida trip she traveled to Los Angeles and drove up the coast to San Francisco, stopping at different beaches and amusement parks along the way. After an exciting vacation, Amanda and her family made their way back to Guangzhou for another school year. 

Alison Liang, a sophomore returning for her 4th year at AISG, stayed in Asia this summer. She visited Osaka and Kyoto in Japan, Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia, and Cebu in the Philippines. She visited typical tourist areas and temples in Osaka and Kyoto, and chilled on the beach in Kota Kinabalu and Cebu. She also went snorkelling and stand up paddle boarding in Cebu. Alison even saw a sea snake for the first time! The highlight of her summer was finally getting some time to relax after a stressful first year of high school.

Miku Makino, a sophomore returning for her 3rd year at AISG, began the summer volunteering as an assistant counselor at a camp on Ersha Island. In her words, most of the week consisted of “[helping] with organizing activities and scolding kids.” After that, she went to Japan for 3 weeks, first visiting Osaka, then Nagoya, then Tokyo. The highlights of her trip were visiting her grandparents, reuniting with childhood friends, and seeing Kabuki – a traditional Japanese dance-drama known for it’s stylized, elaborate make-up worn by performers. Lastly, Miku visited Nha Trang, Vietnam for 4 days; she added that she “stayed in her hotel the entire time” to make for a truly relaxing visit. From Vietnam, Miku returned to Guangzhou ready to start her sophomore year of high school.

These stories are just a tiny snapshot of the amazing summer our Rams had! We wish everyone a productive and fun new year back at school! Good luck!

The pictures and experiences above are from Miku, Alison, Amanda, Nina, and Alice.